Tesla is an electric vehicle and solar energy manufacturer founded by Elon Musk. The first Tesla car was the Tesla Roadster in 2008. It was the first car to use lithium-ion battery cells, and had an industry-leading range of more than 200 miles per charge. The new and updated Roadster boasts more impressive performance specs, including the ability to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 1.9 seconds. It also has a range of 620 miles on one battery charge, the company claims. Production bottlenecks at the company’s massive Gigafactory in Nevada plagued the company for much of 2017. In May 2016, Musk told shareholders his company would produce a total of 500,000 cars annually by the end of 2018, including up to 200,000 Model 3s. However, according to Bloomberg News, Tesla made about 101,000 cars in 2017, and only 1,770 Model 3 sedans were handed over to buyers. On the solar energy front, the company unveiled its solar roofs, comprised of tiles rather than panels, in 2017. By using a solar roof, the company’s PowerWall energy storage device, and a Tesla vehicle, it’s now possible for a customer to have an end-to end-zero carbon energy system.

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